Chapter 20 - THE DOOR THAT WAS NEVER REALLY CLOSEDOne year later, Ethan stood on the balcony of the rebuilt Hayes headquarters.
The city glittered beneath him.
For the first time in his life, the skyline didn't look like a battlefield.
It looked like a future.
His father had chosen retirement.
Ethan had taken over the company.
Maria was serving her sentence.
The corrupt network surrounding her was slowly collapsing.
The family had survived.
The nightmare was over.
At least, that's what Ethan believed.
His assistant entered.
“Mr. Hayes?”
Ethan turned.
“There’s a package.”
“From who?”
“No return address.”
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a small metal key.
Old.
Heavy.
Cold.
Beneath it was a photograph.
Blackwood Valley.
The abandoned lodge.
And his father standing beside Daniel Voss twenty-five years earlier.
But there was something Ethan had never seen before.
A third person stood in the shadows.
A woman.
Her face was partly hidden.
Ethan turned the photograph over.
A single sentence was written on the back.
YOUR FATHER SAVED MY LIFE ONCE. NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO SAVE HIS.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
He immediately called his father.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Outside, thunder rolled across the city.
Then his phone vibrated.
One message.
From an unknown number.
Don't trust the man who tells you the story is over.
Ethan looked toward the dark skyline.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he closed his hand around the old key.
Behind him, his father's empty office door stood slightly open.
A strange draft moved through the room.
On the desk was a photograph Ethan had never seen before.
His father.
Maria.
Daniel Voss.
And the mysterious woman.
All standing together.
Twenty-five years ago.
Ethan stared at the photograph.
Then slowly whispered:
“Dad…”
The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
And somewhere in the building—
A door unlocked.
CLICK.
Ethan turned.
The story of the man who refused to stay dead had ended.
But the secret that began before his funeral…
May you like
had just awakened.
TO BE CONTINUED…
